The Norin Knocks

 *Recording starts*

Ok, look!  Whoever gets this recording, please send it to my mom.  I’ve been trying to call the police, but all the lines are cut.  My phone isn’t working and there’s no way for me to get out of here.  I tried to call my mom after the police line didn’t pick up.  I think cell service is out.  I don’t know what else to do.  I already locked the doors and windows to my apartment, but I know there’s nowhere for me to go.  It has me cornered and it’s been tracking me for the last week. 

Everything started when my friend Nayomi and I were heading home after a day of shopping and hanging out.  She opted to take an Uber while I opted for the campus bus back to my apartment.  I didn’t catch his face then, but something wasn’t right when I tried to call Nayomi later that night, asking her if she had seen my spare pair of shades.  I had misplaced them and was hoping she happened to have grabbed them and forgot to tell me.  That’s when everything began turning dark. 

Over the phone, Nayomi begged for me to help her.  She told me that there was someone outside her apartment, but no police had arrived, even ten minutes after she had called.  I asked her to tell me what it looked like.  Nayomi told me that it looked like a tall man with a spider for a face was trying to break into her apartment.  I could hear her trying to escape him. Nayomi’s screams were blood curdling as she tried to get away from the man who was chasing her down.  Spiders were her greatest fear, so whoever was hunting my friend down planned to brutalize her while she was most horrified.  I remember hearing three distinct knocks and a scream before the phone call cut out. 

*knock*
*knock*

*knock*

I tried to dial her back, but the phone line was dead.  Whoever it was that killed her that night destroyed her phone upon entering the room.  Her body was found mutilated with two large stab wounds in her neck that imitated the fangs of a spider having been the fatal blow. 

Two nights after this, my friend Jason called me about seeing something weird outside of his apartment.  I told him to lock his apartment and to not let anyone inside, not even his roommate, and to call the police.  He had already tried to call his roommate and the police, no answer.  Jason tried to call his girlfriend, but there was no response.  He looked outside to see who was trying to break through his apartment door and saw that it was a large man dressed up in a clown costume wielding some balloons.  Clowns were Jason’s biggest fear.  I could hear him breathing heavily and doing his best to try and hide inside his bedroom closet.  I heard three distinct knocks, Jason’s screams, and the phone line being cut off.

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

Jason was found the next day mutilated with thick parachute chord wrapped around his neck, along with some colorful balloons and a card in his lap with the text across the front saying, “Get well soon!”  Whoever was doing this was sick, which is why they weren’t going to stop until they got all my friends. 

Yesterday was the last time I heard Eric while he was alive.  He was heading home from the gym when he noticed something from the bushes and immediately ran to his apartment, locking himself inside and calling the police.  All the lines were dead, just like before.  Whoever it was that was doing this knew exactly what they were doing and how to get at our deepest fears.  This time, the man who chased down Eric was racing after him and dressed up as a zombie, Eric’s worst fear come to life.  He screamed, begging me to see if the police would come through on my end.  But by the time I was about to dial 911, that dreaded sound was heard in the background before his phone was cut off.

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

Eric’s body was found with his entire face missing, parts of it strewn across his bedroom floor with bite marks on it, indicating his face was bitten off by the killer.  At this point, I had no idea who this guy was other than it was a killer that my friend Nayomi was obsessed with.  She had been following a true crime case involving a killer local to our area of the United States who called himself “The Norin”.   Named after a woodland creature of old folklore, he took shape of his victim’s worst fears, just like the creature in old folklore did when confronted with weary travelers who posed a threat to the Norin’s territory.  And I knew that I was likely to be Norin’s next victim. 

I heard the knocking outside my apartment complex entrance and saw a hooded figure and ran back to my room.  I thought that I was overreacting at first and decided to try 911.  But the number wasn’t working.  Then, I went to lock all of the doors and windows to secure myself in, but the door was old, and the windows have balconies that are easy to cross over.  I’m pretty sure that I’m trapped in here and won’t make it out alive.  Whoever finds this recording on my laptop’s hard drive, save it as evidence to track this guy down and bring justice for me and my friends. 

*Heavy breathing* I see him now.  He’s here.

*Shrieks* Wait!  He has my dad’s face.  How does he have my dad’s face and scar?  My dad is dead!  No…No!  You can’t hurt me anymore!  You can’t!  This is all a dream!  You can’t hurt me again!  You can’t!  Please!  Someone!  HELP!

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

*Recording ends*